"I feel like anyone can look at the film and digest he's a great runner," Wooching said. "The good chances are to try to get him with the pass. You have to let out DBs, our outside and inside linebackers work the interior and get to him."

Passing accuracy downfield hasn't been a consistent strength of Alabama's offense this fall. That's no secret, so several Washington players candidly spoke about how they'll attack Hurts.

"I mean, yeah. We know that he's forced some turnovers throwing the ball," said defensive back Budda Baker. "We like that. Being a defensive back, I like that. He can throw. He can run. But at the end of the day, if he doesn't see anything to throw, he's going to run the ball."

Hurts had at least one interception in six of his last eight games. Timing and accuracy have been a focal point for improvement all season. His 65.3 completion percentage ranks 13th nationally, but includes the jet sweep pitches to receivers.

The quarterback didn't have much to say when asked about Freeze's assessment.

"We'll just have to see when the game comes," Hurts said.

His 841 rushing yards rank second on the team, though he hasn't seen as many carries in recent games. After running 20-plus times against Texas A&M and LSU, Hurts ran just nine times against Auburn before taking eight in the SEC Championship win over Florida.

"We feel like the D-line is going to have a great opportunity to try and keep him in the pocket," Baker said. "And when he does cross the line of scrimmage, we have to hit him. He's been hit before but he's never backed down. You see him running over guys, stiff-arming guys. So for that, we just have to keep hitting, hitting and hitting him all game.

"Hopefully, he'll crack but he hasn't cracked yet."

A few mobile quarterbacks had big games against the Washington defense this fall. Arizona's Brandon Dawkins ran 13 times for 176 yards.

So, there's no doubt Washington will be trying to contain Hurts to the tackle box.

"His passing, it's good, but he's a freshman and it's always going to get better," said Wooching, the Husky linebacker. "I think if we can contain his running and get him to pass more, our DBs on the back can take care of it."